Snowflakes
by bloomandgrow
Summary: Georg discovers that snowflakes are one of his favourite things.


**Thanks so much Mucwriter for organising the Pro boards Advents Calendar.**

 **I tried but failed to inject some plot into this. It's pure fluff.**

 **oooOOOooo**

Maria was torturing him. And by the looks of her she was thoroughly enjoying herself too. There was no other explanation for it, Georg realized with a mix of rueful amusement and indignation. Ever since their honeymoon when she had discovered her power over him and her capacity to reduce him to blithering wreck of need and hunger by her slightest touch or playful look, she had reveled in her ability to bring him to his knees.

Today was no exception, barely a week before Christmas. The day had started well as it usually did every morning, with their own private time of passion, tenderness and laughter. Their mornings usually left him in a buoyant mood for the rest of the day, and they invigorated him enough to keep him going until the evening when he would take her in his arms again. Usually. But today his wife clearly had other ideas, tormenting him ceaselessly and making him long for nightfall even as the day had just begun.

The children had awoken joyfully to a snow covered world, gasping in wonder and delight, their faces pressed excitedly against the window panes, unable to contain their happiness at how pure and soft and inviting the snow looked as it transformed the garden into a magical winter paradise.

They had wolfed down their breakfast before struggling into their winter snow clothes and racing outside, bursting with excitement. Georg and Maria joined them, enjoying the sweetness of the moment and helping build snowmen and laughing at the exuberant snowball fights.

Georg and Louisa were pelting each other with snowballs when he turned around, distracted by the sound of Maria's laughter floating in the air. She was standing with the two little ones who were giggling helplessly, their tongues out trying to catch the snowflakes drifting down. He stood stock still for a moment, staring at his wife.

 _Dear God_ , he suddenly felt very hot and sweat beaded his forehead despite the freezing cold. Did she know what the sight of her pink tongue was doing to him? Yes she did - the minx - Maria cast him a teasing smile, her eyes full of laughter as she tasted the snowflake. He swallowed hard as he imagined it melting inside her mouth.

As he stood there gaping like an idiot and helpless with longing as Maria caught another snowflake as it swirled gently down, his older children took advantage of the easy target he made, bombarding him with snowballs. In truth he barely noticed until a well placed one from Kurt landed squarely in his face, drenching him in icy clumps. But it was actually a blessed relief to feel the cold wet snow dripping down his neck, and thankfully it gave him the distraction he needed to gather the tattered remnants of his composure. He picked up piles of snow to attack the children as they scattered with squeals and shouts.

After lunch Maria had arranged for a horse and carriage festooned with Christmas decorations to trot through the beautiful ancient streets of Salzburg. The children were bundled up warmly as they sang out all the joyous carols that they knew, their voices soaring into the crisp clear air as they cantered through the cobbled streets.

With the children singing _Leise Rieselt der Schnee_ (The Snow Falls Quietly) in their sweet voices Georg glanced at Maria singing beside him, she looked particularly enchanting with her flushed cheeks and her beautiful eyes radiant with warmth and happiness. A light snow was falling again and some snowflakes had settled on her nose and eyelashes and he had to suppress the urge to lean over and kiss them off her skin, one by one.

He was just in the middle of a verse of _O Holy Night in_ a low rich baritone when he felt Maria's delicate hand under the blanket touching his knee. He let out a strangled note which made the children giggle thinking it was deliberate. His body began to burn instantly, and shards of feeling pierced through his thick winter trousers where her hand lay. His mind was suddenly blank, unable to remember the rest of the lines of the carol so he let the children take over. The only thought in his head was wondering whether the hand would move further up onto his thigh.

It didn't - to his disappointment and relief, but it did squeeze his knee gently in a particularly sensitive spot for him, eliciting a craving he could barely contain. God what his wife could do to him so effortlessly, he thought. Maria smiled at him in delight, clearly enjoying wielding her power over him so mercilessly.

When they returned home he lifted her down from the carriage and she gave him a look through those long, thick eyelashes that always set him on fire, the look that was reserved only for him, as tender as a caress and as delightful as a kiss. Would this day never end he wondered for the hundredth time. Wonderful as it was he was impatient for the night to begin.

In the afternoon the children and Maria kept busy rehearsing their Christmas play, with Max watching on in amusement. Georg came out of his study to observe unseen for a time. They were making a huge racket as they practiced, arguing fiercely and squabbling over their parts.

Only Marta and Gretl were working hard to perfect their roles as snowflakes, twirling around. Georg watched his darling Maria in her element with the children: laughing, cajoling, coaxing, encouraging, directing, all with joyful enthusiasm. God how he loved her.

Before long however to his amusement, their practice session descended into chaos and then conflict as first Louisa provoked Kurt into an argument and then more tempers flared as Friedrich and Brigitta joined in taking sides.

As Maria tried unsuccessfully to calm everyone down Georg decided to make his presence known in his most provocative way and maybe get a bit of payback for her behavior. He stepped forward, an insufferably arrogant look on his face. "What on earth is this infernal racket?" he roared. "Maria, I will not have shouting in this house," ignoring the irony that he was bellowing himself.

He strode off to his study shutting the door firmly, leaving a shocked silence behind him. He waited just inside counting the seconds. He gave Maria about four seconds to come storming through the door, outraged at his bad behavior.

He could just picture her staring after him infuriated, her hands on her hips, her mouth open in a frustrated angry O, and her eyes full of fiery blue sparks and he chuckled to himself. _One, two, thr-_ the door was flung open and hit the wall with a loud _Bang_ as his enraged wife burst in.

"What on earth-" She began furiously but he was waiting there for her, shutting the door and pulling her into her arms and kissing her hungrily with all the pent up longing she had brought out in him, before she could even finish her sentence.

For a moment she resisted, taken by surprise, and still angry, but then he felt her resistance melt like a snowflake and she was kissing him back with such intensity it made his head spin. Her arms were around his neck and her fingers in his hair.

"What was that all about?" she asked eventually coming up for air, bewildered, her eyes soft and glazed with passion as his mouth trailed kisses along her face.

He laughed softly, "You looked so beautiful and I was desperate to kiss you but I could hardly do that in front of the children, hence my cunning plan to get you into the study." With his mouth moving along her lovely neck he said with smug satisfaction "You are so easy to provoke. And really I needed to do something about your own outrageous behavior today, torturing your poor husband with your feminine wiles."

Before Maria could scold him for his unwarranted provocation and appalling behavior he was kissing her again and she ceased caring about his devious means of getting her in there.

"Darling, - the children," she whispered eventually.

"Mmm?" he asked, barely registering her words, his attention focused entirely on kissing the pulse beating frantically in her neck.

"I can hear them outside the door."

He listened, yes he could hear some loud whispers: "Mother and Father are fighting." "Well why can't we hear anything then?"

Maria and Georg looked at each other with suppressed mirth. "Give me a moment," he murmured and moved her gently aside. He opened the door suddenly, amused to see seven startled guilty faces listening at the door. "Your mother and I have some things to discuss so why don't you all run off and practice your marvelous performance in the meantime."

At Gretl's anxious look, he crouched down on his haunches so that he was eye level to reassure her. "There's nothing to worry about - we aren't arguing – and I can't wait to see your play – it looks wonderful. I think you two are the prettiest snowflakes I have ever seen, and after today snowflakes have definitely become one of my favourite things." He patted Gretl's head affectionately and tapped Marta playfully on the nose as the two little girls glowed with pride.

He shut the door, taking Maria back in his arms. "Now where were we?"

As she fell into the kiss he very soon realized with agonized frustration that he needed to take things further, now, or he would go up in flames. To hell with waiting for the night. "Maria, I think you are developing one of your headaches," he muttered desperately. "We had better tell the children…" he groaned as she nipped teasingly at his lower lip.

"But we can't, not here, the children might hear us," Maria whispered back.

He took several deep breaths to compose himself and smoothed his ruffled hair back as he best he could, then opened the study door to call Max. He stood in the doorway, so that Maria could stay inside out of view.

"Max, Maria is not feeling well so I'm taking her upstairs, can you look after the children and help them with the rehearsal for awhile?" he said knowing full well Max would see right through his ridiculous lies.

Max raised a skeptical eyebrow and smirked "Actually you're the one who has been looking rather feverish all day – perhaps you should take a lie down too. It might do you a world of good."

Georg gave him a quelling look, knowing that Maria was listening and likely to be mortified by the suggestive banter but he merely said "Thank you Max, I think I just might do that. Now why don't you pretend that the children are rehearsing for a concert at the Christmas festival. I'm sure you can manage that."

"What a marvelous idea" Max responded with a delighted smile. "You know I was just thinking that Kurt is able to hit the most exquisite notes, you really should put him in for the Vienna Boys' Choir. What a voice that boy has. I can just picture him performing at the annual Vienna Philharmonic New Year's concert." As Max looked infuriatingly like he was settling in for a long discussion Georg couldn't bear it.

"Yes, yes, alright, alright, whatever. We can discuss this later." He was willing to concede almost anything to Max at this point.

Max strolled off smugly, chuckling. Georg raised his eyes to the heavens as he could hear Max telling the children "I really think your father is coming around to the idea of you performing in public. So let's rehearse some Christmas songs to really impress him."

Frankly at this moment Georg didn't care as he sneaked Maria up the stairs quietly, almost dragging her in his desperation. The anticipation was killing him.

"Do you think Max knew you were lying?" Maria asked doubtfully as she hurried along with him.

"Of course he did" Georg replied unthinkingly, and then at her horrified look as she paused on the stairs, he hastily amended: "Not. Of course he did _not_ know I was lying." He continued pulling her along and then led her into their bedroom, kicking the door shut impatiently with his foot.

Much later, Maria kissed Georg one last time. "We had better go downstairs now darling."

"Mmm in a minute." He was enjoying the delicious lassitude too much to get up. He held her close and watched contentedly as more snowflakes pushed gently against the window pane, gathering in soft piles.

"What's that?" He lifted his head as the lovely strains of 'Silent Night' – one of Austria's many precious gifts to the world - drifted through the house. The children were singing it so angelically in a two part harmony that it moved them both unbearably. Tears glistened in Maria's eyes. Georg sighed with happiness, his heart full of joy as he kissed Maria. He felt truly blessed.

 **ooooOOOoooo**

 **Merry Christmas - Happy holidays to all.**

I do not own TSOM


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